Understanding Pope Francis: Message, Media, and Audience

Understanding Pope Francis: Message, Media, andAudienceoffers several chapters which illuminate the often misunderstood, but widely discussed, leader of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Francis. With 1.3 billion baptized members living throughout every continent, communication by and about him is a subject deserving to be understood. As technology makes the “global village” predicted by Marshall McLuhan more apparent, the complexities of leading an organization across geographic boundaries with differing ideas about culture and governance present great need to be nuanced, indeed cautious, about messages communicated across diverse media platforms and consumed by divergent audiences. This book lay bare the messages Pope Francis produces, the way that varying platforms/media present those messages, and the complex ways in which audiences formulate their interpretations.

Table of Contents:
Table of Contents Acknowledgments Introduction : Pope Francis: An Open Book for Increasingly Closed Minds Joseph R. Blaney Part I: Message Chapter 1: Navigating through Ecclesiastical Landmines: Pope Francis’ Rhetoric in a Church on the Verge of Civil War Anthony M. Wachs Chapter 2: ‘We Have Defaulted on a Promissory Note’: Pope Francis I’s Concatenate Circulation during His 2015 Visit to the United States Sara A. Mehltretter Drury Chapter 3: Building a Future of Freedom: Pope Francis’s Mobilization of Diverse Prophetic Rhetorical Traditions in His Address to Congress Daniel P. Overton Chapter 4: Pope Francis, Twitter, and Collective Identity: Religious Branding of Crisis Alison N. Novak and M. Olguta Vilceanu Chapter 5: Pope Francis’ Environmental Messaging and Moral Foundations of ‘Care/Harm’ in Environmental Crises Mary Beth Deline Chapter 6: Has Anyone Wept?’ Pope Francis at Lampedusa: Migration, Indifference, and Pastoral Pastiche as Equipment for Forgiving Christopher J.

About the Author :
Joseph R. Blaney is professor of communication and associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Illinois State University.

Review :
Blaney and his assembled authors provide an adroit, incisive and insightful analysis of the myriad dimensions of Pope Francis and his evangelical message for the Catholic Church. From his social media presence to his social policy commentary, this book eloquently adds to our understanding of religious rhetoric and the importance of message fidelity and ecumenical messaging in promoting the faith to believers and nonbelievers alike. This belongs on the shelf for all scholars of religious studies. “Though some media may have framed Pope Francis simply as a liberal reformer, a closer look at his rhetoric reveals unexpected complexity and nuance. Blaney has captured this nuance by assembling scholars who approach the Pope’s communication from a diverse, yet cohesive, set of perspectives. Contributors analyze the rhetorical tensions in Pope Francis’ discourse, discuss his embrace of contemporary issues, unpack his representations in the media, and illustrate the ways in which he uses social media to develop a brand and respond to crisis. One of the real strengths of the book is that contributors bring an unusual variety of backgrounds and methodologies to the study of Pope Francis’ discourse. Scholars of rhetoric, religion, politics, leadership, and related fields will find rich analysis. For me, this is a book I will return to.” “Joseph Blaney has assembled a valuable body of scholarly essays opening new conversations about the transformative leader of one of our oldest and most consequential institutions. Rather than view Pope Francis through the secular prism favored by contemporary media, the authors endeavor to unfold his rhetoric and thereby explore the moral themes of his papacy. The light they shine brilliantly reflects hitherto unseen facets of this most remarkable religious leader.”